Daily Readings - Thu Nov 10 2022

⁷For I have derived much joy and comfort from your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you.⁸Accordingly, though I am bold enough in Christ to command you to do what is required,⁹yet for love's sake I prefer to appeal to you--I, Paul, an old man and now a prisoner also for Christ Jesus--¹⁰I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment.¹¹(Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.)¹²I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart.¹³I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel,¹⁴but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own free will.¹⁵For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever,¹⁶no longer as a slave but more than a slave, as a beloved brother--especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.¹⁷So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me.¹⁸If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.¹⁹I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it--to say nothing of your owing me even your own self.²⁰Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

Luke

Chapter 17

²⁰Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed,²¹nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There!' for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you."²²And he said to the disciples, "The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.²³And they will say to you, 'Look, there!' or 'Look, here!' Do not go out or follow them.²⁴For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.²⁵But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

Sermon

In today’s readings, we encounter two powerful messages about transformation and the presence of God in our lives. The first reading from Philemon reveals the transformative power of faith and love. Paul, writing from prison, appeals to Philemon on behalf of Onesimus, a former slave who has become a brother in Christ. Paul emphasizes that Onesimus, once useless to Philemon, is now useful both to him and to Paul. This letter is not just about reconciliation but about seeing others through the eyes of Christ, recognizing that our relationships are transformed when we encounter God. The Gospel from Luke shifts our focus to the nature of the kingdom of God. Jesus tells the Pharisees that the kingdom does not arrive with grandeur or fanfare; it is already within us. He warns against chasing after signs or false appearances of the kingdom, reminding us that the Son of Man will come like lightning, illuminating the whole sky. Jesus also reminds us that before his day, he must suffer and be rejected. This teaches us that the kingdom is not something we find by looking outward but by turning inward, where God’s presence dwells in our hearts. These readings invite us to reflect on how we see God and others. Like Philemon, we are called to recognize the transformative power of Christ in those around us, even in unexpected places. Like the disciples, we are reminded that the kingdom is not something we find by chasing external signs but by nurturing its presence within us. May we, like Paul, have the courage to see others as brothers and sisters in Christ, and may we, like the disciples, remain steadfast in our faith, knowing that the kingdom is already at work in our lives.